Regulatable discharge means for soap dispensers



Se t. 16, 1930. a. H. PACKWOOD. JR 1,775,912

REGULATABLE DISCHARGE MEANS FOR SOAP DISPENSERS Filed Feb. 26. 1929 Patented Sept. 16, 1930 UNITED" STATES PATENT errics GEORGEH. PACKWO O D, JR.,-OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, ASSIGIIOR TO G. H. PACKWOOD MFG. COMPANY, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, A CORPORATION OF MISSOURI REGULATABLE DISCHARGE MEANS FOR SOAP DISPENSERS Application filed February 26, 1929.

This invention relates to commodity dispensers and particularly to devices for dispensing powdered or liquid soap and like materials in which the dispenser consists of atiltable receptacle, Which when tilted in one direction, discharges a certain amount of soap upon the hands of the user and when released swings back to a normal position without shock to the mechanism.

One of the objects of the present invention is to provide a powdered soap dispensing receptacle so formed that it will always swing back when released to its normal position, but may be easily swung to its discharge position with one hand.

A further object is to provide a soap dispenser ofsuch construction that the opening through which the soap is discharged is normally disposedat the top of the dispenser and not at the bottom thereof, thus eliminating any opening at thebottom which would be likely to collect vapor rising from steam or hot water.

A further object is to provide a dispenser of this character with a discharge opening normally covered by a flap Valve that opens and closes by means of gravity, this valve when it is closed, preventing water from entering the dispenser, the wallet the opening being so formed as to prevent water from climbing or creeping into the discharge open- -1ng.

Another object is to provide means for feeding the soap from the dispenser in a definite regulated quantity upon each operation of the dispenser, this mechanism being so constructed that there are no internal moving parts, springs, levers or the like to get out of order and being so constructed that the amount of soap that it dispenses is regulatable and is capable of being set by the owner of the dispenser and when so set, causes the discharge of a positive and definite quantity of soap upon the hands.

Another object is to provide a soap dis- Serial No. 342,827.

penser which has a soap dispensing or measuring unit enclosed within the soap receptacle, which unit can be easily and entirely removed fronr the dispenser, disassembled and readily cleaned.

Other objects will appear in the course of the following description.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure l is a side elevation of a soap dispenser constructed in accordance with my invention;

Figure 2 is a top plan view thereof;

Figure 3 is a vertical section from front to rear;

Figure 4 is a transverse section;

Figure 5 is a section on the line 55 of Figure 4.

In the drawings I have illustrated a soap dispensing receptacle 10 which has the peculiar form set forth in detail and claimed in my copending application for patent, Serial No. 342,828 filed on the 26th day of February, 1929. This soap dispenser is provided with the lugs 11 at opposite sides having the screwthreaded apertures for the reception of screws 12 passing through bushings 13 in turn carried by a supporting bracket, the arms of which are designated 14. This bracket has aweb 15 formed with apertures designed either for the passage of screws or for the passage of U-bolts whereby the bracket can be supported either upon a wall or upon vertical or horizontal pipes. Each of the bracket arms 14 at its bearing end is formed with the downwardly extending stop lug 16 through which a stop screw 17 passes and the body 10 immediately above the bearing lug 11 is provided with the outwardly projecting ears 18 which will strike this sto lug when the body 10 has been fully tilted from its normal position to a discharge position.

The body 10, as more "fully detailed in my copending application, has a peculiar form 7 generally speaking, globular and hollow, but -what may be termed the outer face of the body 10 isof a flatter curvature than the rear portion of the body. The bearingaxis for the'body 10 is disposed rearward of avertical plane normally cutting the middle or" the body. The front of the body 10 adjacent its top is formed with the outwardly projecting upwardlycurved lip 19. Thetop of the body 10 isfrustrated or cutoff on ahorizontal planelso asto provide afilling opening- 20,

' there being lugs 21,011 each sideof thejfilling opening upon-which the top 22 1S adapteclto be disposed. This top 22-hasafiat marginal '15 "face which sets againstthefiatupper edgeof the wall or-body 10 and two screws 28 pass through the cover or top-22 and-into the lugs 21, thus holding the top in place.

screws set down into countersunk openings; andpreferably areso formed at their outer These ends that asmall' wrench is'necessary out a peculiar form in order toremove these screws 'permit'the removal of the top. N The top is provided at its middlei with a pair of outwardly projectingea'rs 24.} The top forward of these earsisprovided with a. fiat seat 25. and asector-shaped opening 26 dispos'ed'adjacentone end of the seat, Coact ing with the seat, 25 and normally covering this sector-shaped opening 26 is' a discharge valve 27 having an ea'r'28wh1ch extends rearwardjand is disposed between the ears 24 and pivoted thereto. .This valve is normallyheld by gravity against the seat25 but as the body is'tilted from a normal position toa discharge erably made inlone piece therewith is the' means for measur ng out a certain definite position and after thebod'y has reached a certain position, this valve will] swing open to permit the discharge of a certain amount of soap through the opening-26. ,p

Then asthe bod'ysw..ngs baciz toits normalposition the valve will, of course, close." v

Carried upon the cover or top 22 and prefquantity of soap to be discharged on each oscillation of the. vdispenslng receptacle; -Th s v consists of a tubular web or'wall 29 extending 7 form seats for a slide34 whose function will downward from the cover or lid'22 and integrally casttherewith. Thelower endot this 50 wall is disposed at anangle oi 'approximately 4'5 as at 30. j The wall'at'one point is'iormed I with a vertically extending opening I 31 defined atits lower end by transverse web 32. Oneach slde of the opening there are iormed outwardly projecting ribs 83' rabbeted "to be laterstated. l p I 'The interior of the tubular portion 29 is divided by aivertical partition 35 into two chambers 36 and 37. The web 35 is cut away at its lower end as at 38, this opening providing communication at what is thenormal iower. end of the. two chambers 36 and 37.

, The lower end of the member 29 is closed by a plate 39,; held inplace by thescrews'40; en-

gaging with screw-threadedboresformed in diametrically opposite portions of the wall.

29. The upper end of this plateis formed with a slot 41 andbeyond the slotthe plate is deflected upward asat v42. 7 A; screw 43.

passes through this deflected end. The lower wall of the slot is disposed at an acute angle to the face of the plate39' and the upper wall is disposed at a greater angle.

, Extending through the slot 41 and bearing against the seatsfformedin theribs 38 is the slide 34 previously referred to. i

This is a cut-ofi' slide and designed to in crease or decrease the effective area of the openingBl. When theslide is pulled downward, the effective areaof the opening will be increased and'when theislide is pulled up.-

ward the effective area of the opening will 7 be'decreased.--- The slide is held in its adjusted position by means of the screw 43.

It will. be noted from Figure "4" that the said ,o'peningfil opens into thechamber '37 and this in turn into the ch'amber 36 and it isthe chamber 36 whichfhas the opening 26 "normally closed bythe 'valvei When the lid is in place and the receptacle. 10 is more orless'fille'd with powdered soap-,the recep-j tacit will be slightly tiltedjthatf is, affplane extending verticallyupwardthrough the cen ters will noticut throughthe center o'f'the top 22, or in other words, the seat'2O'forf this top 'willj'not be horizontal, butwillj bjefat an' angle to the-horizontal; 'Nowi wh'enf the the sliding gate 84 will receivesoap flowing inward from the' receptacle. A1 predetermined amount of this finely powdered'or liquid soap w vill always flow in to the chain ber' 37 upon'each full tilting movement off: U thereceptaclef;Nowwhen-the receptaclere turns to its normal position which itwill do under the action 'or' avit 'when pressnreis:

removed from theflip 19, the soapjwhich is I. within theupper portion "of the'chamber S? i i. will drop downfupon"the inclined'plate'30 4' 1 and will move down by the actionof gravity into the chamber 36.

'Then 'whenthe receptaclejiS tilted;

this predetermined amount "of soapwill bedischarged'through the aperture '26. 7 Thus each time that the receptacle is tilted, a pre determined amount of'soap controllable by' it the efiective area ofthe opening i lwill pass intoth'e chamber 3?,then asthe receptacle returns to a normal position, it will pass into the chamber 36and theniu'ponthe neXt su'c ceed'ing tilting movement,'this predeterminedamount of soap will be discharged. "The amount of soap which will-Fbe'. discharged at each actuation will depend entirely upon the setting of theslidable gate 32 and thus the amount of soap that is dispensed at each actuation is controllable by the owner of the dispenser. i

' It will be seen that the globular shape of this soap dispenser'will cause it to act as a water shed for all water vapor which may rise from the basin below or other condensation so that this condensed steam or water will collect at the lowest portion of the receptacle and drip off into the basin. It will further be'seen that the only opening through which the soap can be discharged is normally closed by the valve 27 so that no water can pass into the top of the receptacle and mingle with the soap.

Furthermore, this opening is defined by a raised rib 25 constituting a seat for the valve and this will additionally prevent any tendency of the water to. creep into this opening or pass beneath the valve by capillary attraction.

This soap dispenser has no internal moving parts. The agitation of the soap is secured by the oscillation of the receptacle as a whole and there are no springs, rods, levers, balls or other loose objects which have to be used to stir up the soap. There are no internal moving parts of any kind, no spring, levers or anything of this nature and, therefore, there is nothingto get-out of order. The soap dis pensing unit comprising the top 22 withthe depending tubular member 29, etc., may be removed as a whole from the body 10 so as to permit the body to be filled with soap and so as to permit the soap dispensing unit to be cleaned every now and then.

- Preferably the soap dispensing body 1s mounted for such swinging movement so that the rear side of the body will be presented to the view of the operator when the body is tilted downward and the front side of the dispenser will be presented to the operator when it is in normal position. These front and rear faces are, therefore, preferably provided with advertising matter 26, which may be cast, impressed, or otherwise attached to the receptacle and thus the name of the soap or the name of the manufacturer or other advertising matter may be easily and eflectively presented to the user when he is using the de-. vice, thus providing a very good method of silent advertising. Preferably, as before remarked, the bracket for the soap dispenser will be so disposed that its arms are in a horizontal position, but I do not wish to be limited to this. The stops will prevent the soap dispenser from being turned so completely around that it will swing into a wrong position.

When released, the soap dispenser will swing back to its normal position without ar or noise and furthermore without any tendency to rack or jar loose the means which support it. Many soap dispensers are mounted upon plaster walls and tile walls and the strain resulting from their operation or the shock and jar caused by their return or by the soap dispenser striking a fixed stop tends to loosen these parts. This is entirely avoided in my construction because the soap dispenser swings perfectly free upon its pivots or gudgeons and a depression of the soap dispenser to its discharging position merely acts to turn the soap dispenser upon these gudgeons. The return of the soap dispenser to its normal position upon its release is dampened by the soap contained within the dispenser whether this soap be liquid or powdered soap so that it does not swing violently back.

Another advantage which is secured by my construction is that there is a perceptible time interval between the discharge of one portion of soap and the discharge of the next portion which tends to prevent wastage of the soap. There the soap is dispensed by a series of actuations, one following immediately upon the heels of another, there is always waste of soap, but with my device it is necessary that the receptacle shall be allowed to swing back to its normal position before a second portion can be dispensed. This acts to a certain extent as a check upon the user but will not eject more soap than is absolutely necessary.

Economically, this is a very important function which I believe is not found in any other soap dispenser known to me.

lVhile I have illustrated the web or wall 29 as being circular in cross section, I wish it to be understood that this web or wall might be square in cross section without in any way departing from the spirit of the invention and that by the term tubular as used in this specification and referring to this wall, I do not wish to limit myself to a circular tube but include a tube of any cross section or contour.

lVhile I have illustrated and prefer to have the receptacle rock or swing in a vertical plane forward and rearward, that is, toward and from the operator, it is obvious that the device might be so set that the receptacle will swing in a vertical plane laterally, that is, in a plane at right angles to the plane in which it is illustrated as rocking without in any way departing from the spirit of the invention.

Furthermore, while I have designed this structure particularly for the purpose of dispensing powdered soaps, it may be equally well used for the purpose of dispensing liquid soaps and it is within the purview of my invention to use it for this purpose.

I claim 1. A soap dispenser comprising a receptacle mounted for swinging movement in a vertical plane, the top of the receptacle being open, a detachable cover for said open end and having a discharge opening, mechanism mounted upon theinside face o f 'the cover and disposed I entirely within the receptacle acting to discharge a predetermined amount of soap from' the receptacle through said opening, as the receptacleis tilted, and alia p i valve mounted up'on saidfioutenfaice oi the "cover and normally closing sa d opening and swinging to an open position when thereceptacle is tilted to discharge position, said opening being defined by a rim, the face of the rim, having an. outwardly extending flange less .in width than the width of the rimeand forming. a seat for the valve and preventing *moisture from entering said opening between the valve and seat 1 '2. A soapdispenser comprising a-receptaclefswing'able in: averticalplane, the top otthe receptacle beingopen, .a detachable.

' cover for saidopen end andhavingadischarge opening, the cover carrying a pair of downwardly extending chambers communieatively connected at their lowerends, the top'ofone'of said chambers beingcoincident with theoutlet opening in, the cover andthe f other chamber having a laterally extending inlet opening adjacent the cover whereby when the receptacle is tilted themateria'l con.- tained in thefi-rst named chamber will be discharged and a predetermined amount of material which is Within the lowest portion of the receptacle and surroundingthe chambers will passin-to the second named chamher; 7

c 3. A soap dispensed comprising a receptacle swingable in a vertical plane.- thetop of the receptacle being open, a detachable cover for said open end, the cover'being formed 1 upon as inside face with tubular member extending vertically downward and having a- -laterally inclined lower end wall, the tubular member being divided by a vertical partition,

the partition being cut awayuat' its lower end to provide for communication between said chambers, the longer chamber of the two having a discharge opening extending c through the cover andthje shorter chamber oithe two having a"laterally. extending inlet opening adj acent-the coverwhereby material collected at the lower end, of the receptacle whenthe latter is inverted will pass" into said}- inlet opening into said-last named chamber.

4-. A soap dispenser comprising arecep;

tacle swingable in a vertical plane, theitop rot thereceptacle be'ingjopen a. detachable coverjforsaid openend the cover 'being to'rmeden'tirely upon itsinsideface with a tubular member extend-in vertic'all (lot V117 wardandhavingits lowere'dge laterally in clined, the tubular member being divided a 7 vertical partition, the partition-being cut away at its lower endxto provide for' coinmunicationbetween said chambers, the'longe er chamberof thetwo having a discharge openingextending through the cover and the. shorter chamber .o fthe two having an inlet ima es opening acent the cover and opening lat-e erally'into the interior otthe receptacle, and

adj ustable'means'for controlling the effective areas of said last named sopening,kcomprising a sl de slnftable longitudinally" along: the". opening toreduceeor inc'r'easeaits area, and

means for holdingthe slide .in adjust'ed po'sn I 5:A soap dispenserfcomprising a recep tacle swingable in a vertical plane, the top of said receptacle beingopenpa detachable cover for said open end, the cover being formed a to provide a depending tubularmember having an upwardly and laterally inclinedlower wall, the tubular member being divided into two, chambers by a'vertical partition, the low ,er end of the partition beingcut awayto pro vide communicationbetween the tw'oicham- I here, the longer of the. two chambers open ing through thewall of the cover, the'jshorter of the'tw'o; chambers having an inlet opening iniits' outside wall", the bottom ofthe chamberseXtending beyond said; inside wall-and being slotted, a slide Vertically movable through said slot to reduce orinc'reasezthe effective area of the .opening'intol saidchamher, meansfor holding the slide inadjusted positions, and a fiap valve mounted upon the o exterior of the; cover and normally closingthe discharge opening through "the. same but swing-able to open position whenethe recep tac'leis tilted toward its discharge'lposition.

a A soap dispenser mounted for-swinging g V movement in a 'vertical, plane; and approximately globular in shape, the top'wall of said V receptacle having depending fromit an approximately tubular member, thelower edge of which is inclined upwardand laterally, the tubular member being divided into two chambers by a vertical partitiomterminatingi shortof the bottom whereby to provide "communition extending parallel to the plane of tilting- Vmovementof; the receptacle, thelonger of the two chambers opening through theitop of the the receptacle, manuallyadj ustable; m e ansior regulating the efiiective area fiof: said inlet opening, and Ya flap valve mounted upon' the exterior of the receptacle andniormally doscation between the two chambers, :the parti ing the outlet openingzfrom the outercham ber,butswingable'to.open positio as h p I tweensaid chambers, the longer' ichamber of g the two, discharging through the opening? in a v i 1110 receptacle, the-shorter ofthiitwo: chambers having an inlet openingiadjacentithe top-jot I the receptacle and the shorter chamber of the two having an inlet opening adjacent the top of the receptacle and opening laterally into the interior of the receptacle whereby when the receptacle is inverted, material in the lowest portion of the receptacle will pass through said inlet opening into the interior of the chamber, and adjustable means for controlling the effective area of the last named inlet opening.

In testimony whereof I hereunto alfix my signature.

GEORGE H. PACKWOOD, JR. 

